She Refused to Shrink: Jennifer Burns’ Journey from Dismissal to Health

 Doctors said “we don’t know.” Jennifer Burns said, “that’s not good enough.”

On this episode of Don’t F*kn Shrink, host Daffney Allwein sits down with Jennifer to share her story of refusing to shrink when traditional medicine had no answers. She fought for herself, found the right care, and reclaimed her vibrant health.

Part of her discovery was that foods she thought were healthy, eggs, yogurt, and cashews, were fueling her pain and weight gain. By uncovering hidden triggers, shifting to an anti-inflammatory diet, and embracing yoga, Jennifer lost 20 pounds, eliminated hip pain, and regained her energy in her 50s.

✨ What you’ll hear:

• Why refusing to shrink and self advocacy changes everything
  
  
• The turning point when Jennifer decided “we don’t know” was not acceptable
  
  
• The surprising food sensitivities that fueled her pain
  
  
• How she transformed her health and confidence in midlife
  
  
• A message of hope for every woman told to “just accept it”
  
  

Jennifer’s journey proves: you never have to shrink.

Transcript

[00:00:00:01 - 00:00:10:00]
Daffney  Allwein
 Hey everybody, welcome back to Don't F*kn' Shrink, the podcast that asks you to unapologetically, confidently walk through a world knowing that you know what's best for you.

[00:00:11:07 - 00:00:16:06]
Daffney  Allwein
 Today, joining us is CPA, mom and all around super health sleuth, Jennifer Burns.

[00:00:17:17 - 00:00:23:07]
Daffney  Allwein
 Jen has a very relatable story where she knew her doctors were not seeing her whole health picture,

[00:00:24:07 - 00:01:07:03]
Daffney  Allwein
 unexplained joint pain, weight gain, despite activity and diet, and her orthopedist and physical therapist were just obviously puzzled. It wasn't until Jen took the bull by the horns and visited an integrative medical health facility that real reasons came to light. 20 pounds, pain-free in her 50s, Jen is going to share what she learned and how we can step up and how you can step up for yourself too. Hi, Jen. Hi, Daphne, great to see you. Yeah, thanks for joining us. Little background story, Jen and I actually worked together when she was living in DC for some time and Jen was running, Jen was biking, Jen was always active.

[00:01:08:14 - 00:01:24:05]
Daffney  Allwein
 And the other thing you need to know about Jen as a CPA and former partner of a really big firm here in DC, Jen's a little follower. Jen is all about facts and figures and numbers and everything's got to add up. I always appreciated that about her.

[00:01:25:06 - 00:01:29:05]
Daffney  Allwein
 And something just was not adding up for you this time.

[00:01:31:00 - 00:01:42:12]
Daffney  Allwein
 So you recently pre-COVID moved out to Nevada and started a new chapter in writing policy too, right? So talk about facts and figures.

[00:01:44:11 - 00:01:46:02]
Daffney  Allwein
 Jen, tell me a little bit about what you noticed.

[00:01:47:14 - 00:01:55:22]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, over time and great to be with you today, thanks for having me on and letting me tell my story because it's been quite a journey.

[00:01:55:22 - 00:01:56:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 We need it.

[00:01:56:22 - 00:01:57:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yes.

[00:01:58:13 - 00:02:29:01]
Jennifer Lewis
 So what happened was over, I started to notice my hip was bothering me. And at first, not a big deal, whatever, I slept wrong, I over-exercise, whatever. So at first you ignore it, but it quickly became a point where I couldn't ignore it and my hip was bothering me. And I'm thinking it's a bone issue, like my joints, my buttons. I go to see the orthopedist. That seemed logical to me. Pretty standard, yeah. Exactly.

[00:02:30:04 - 00:02:38:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 So they do the typical thing, X-rays, MRIs, let me give you a shot of cortisone and we'll send you that of physical therapy.

[00:02:39:14 - 00:03:01:05]
Jennifer Lewis
 And immediately that one shot of cortisone on the side of my left leg relieved a lot of the pain. And I started with the physical therapy and I was getting stronger, but I was still experiencing pain when I would do certain movements or I couldn't make it through a shopping trip at Costco without pain.

[00:03:02:06 - 00:03:04:02]
Jennifer Lewis
 And that was bothersome. I'm like, let's go.

[00:03:04:02 - 00:03:05:23]
Daffney  Allwein
 But you're an athletic event, by the way. Yeah, go ahead.

[00:03:05:23 - 00:03:06:23]
 (Laughs)

[00:03:06:23 - 00:03:16:12]
Jennifer Lewis
 I was like, this is weird. Why am I having this pain? I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. I'm doing the physical therapy. I'm doing the exercises, what could be going on here?

[00:03:17:14 - 00:03:28:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 And after about six or nine months, going back to the orthopedist and honestly he was kind of giving me the runaround. Like he would pass me off to his nurse practitioner.

[00:03:29:17 - 00:03:35:03]
Jennifer Lewis
 Because I guess I wasn't a cervical candidate, looking back on it, orthopedist- The nurse got a cut.

[00:03:36:06 - 00:04:13:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yeah, he can't give me a surgery to fix this issue. So I'm being passed down to the nurse practitioner and they're trying different things. That last visit, they wanted me to go on crutches for six weeks. I'm like, why am I gonna go on crutches? Like it's been nine months, I've been doing physical therapy. Now you think I have a stress fracture? Like this is not making sense. And why would I have a stress fracture? I haven't been running because my hip has been bothering me. It's not like I'm pounding payment. I didn't fall, I haven't been in a car accident. Yes. Why would I now, why are you now thinking I have a stress fracture?

[00:04:13:11 - 00:04:31:06]
Daffney  Allwein
 Like this is not- I think it's really important to point this out, to our listeners that Jen has been in good shape. Like Jen has always been active. Jen is, she's very mindful of her health and none of this is adding up because it's, like she said, this was not an injury, this was not a cue.

[00:04:32:18 - 00:05:03:18]
Daffney  Allwein
 Why now? And why have they even got to the point where as a rule follower, I know that you listened to that physical therapist. I know that you were diligent about your exercises and paying attention. So wow. Okay, so they're at the point where they're like, let's just avoid her. Let's just, we don't have any answers anymore. I think you even told me a story where you made an appointment with him across town and he still managed to skate away from you. So clearly these practitioners didn't have the answer and probably the more that you pressed for an answer,

[00:05:04:19 - 00:05:07:18]
Daffney  Allwein
 they just sort of had given up, it sounds like. Is that right?

[00:05:07:18 - 00:05:34:18]
Jennifer Lewis
 That's what I felt like. And I was like, as a CPA and as a professional, I'm like, okay, they clearly don't have answers for me. Like they don't know, they don't know what to tell me. Need to seek out some other advice and started looking around. Was also incidentally having, had noticed that I was having thinning hair. And of course I see those neutrophil commercials. Yeah, of course.

[00:05:35:21 - 00:05:40:06]
Jennifer Lewis
 Like, try some neutrophil, like not even putting any of this together.

[00:05:41:16 - 00:05:47:07]
Jennifer Lewis
 And interestingly, neutrophil offers this thing called a hair mineral analysis.

[00:05:47:07 - 00:05:53:04]
Daffney  Allwein
 Okay, we're gonna put this in the notes in case anybody else wants to jump in on this because this sounds really cool.

[00:05:53:04 - 00:07:04:17]
Jennifer Lewis
 It was fascinating. And of course we're on the hills of COVID. I have nothing better to do. And they're like, send in the hair sample. Let's do it. Why not? I don't even know who I'm sending this to, but I'm gonna put it in the mail and see what comes back. And they take this really seriously. They set up an appointment with me. I got to talk with one of their naturopathic physicians. And he was going through details of what they could tell from my hair. And he's like, I really recommend that you go see a naturopathic doctor. And I'm like, funny, you should mention that. I've been trying to find a doctor to help me because I'm having this other issue with my hip. And he pointed out that there's an association for naturopathic doctors. And you can go on their website and you can find doctors in your area that are certified as a naturopathic doctor. Okay. So sure enough, that's what I did. I went on their website. I found a naturopathic physician in my area. I called up the practice, set up an appointment. And I was somewhat familiar with this integrative medicine.

[00:07:06:00 - 00:07:19:10]
Jennifer Lewis
 Because I had seen it in my lifetime working in the Southern California area, also in the DC area. This is becoming more popular because Western medicine doesn't have all the answers.

[00:07:20:23 - 00:07:50:05]
Daffney  Allwein
 And you spend enough time here on the East Coast. We take our Western medicine very seriously. And we often sort of poo-poo anything that doesn't directly relate or line up with emergency care. As I like to call it, where, hey, I've got a pill, I've got a surgery. That's where we put a lot of our focus, or at least the research, right? So you were aligned with a naturopathic doctor then that was affiliated with UCLA or?

[00:07:50:05 - 00:08:30:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 Actually, it's not. It's called the Las Vegas Integrative Medical Center. Okay, we'll have to add that to the show notes here. UCLA has its own version. Oh, do they? Oh, cool, okay. But here in Las Vegas, there's a practice called the Las Vegas Integrative Medical Clinic. And the doctor, one of the doctors there, I got connected with. And it was fascinating. It was eye-opening. The first thing she did was she looked at my background holistically and she was pointing out and what she's taught me, because I've now been under her care for almost two years. She said to me, "Jennifer, everything's connected."

[00:08:31:17 - 00:08:54:02]
Jennifer Lewis
 So the hip issue and the other issues are experiencing, it's all interconnected. And having had that experience with the orthopedist and not getting any answers and the first thing she said to me, because I'm in my 50s, I'm not gonna hide that. She said, "Jennifer, your body's going through a transition and we're gonna help it."

[00:08:54:02 - 00:08:56:10]
Daffney  Allwein
 Proudly, proudly going through a transition, yes.

[00:08:56:10 - 00:09:20:06]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yes, indeed. And it was like music to my ears and the first thing she did was a thorough analysis with different labs. And what's fascinating about naturopathic physicians is they really dive deep into your lab results and figure out what's happening uniquely to your body and what you need to be doing to heal your body essentially.

[00:09:20:06 - 00:09:24:04]
Daffney  Allwein
 So you were surprised, I'm guessing, by the results that you got.

[00:09:24:04 - 00:09:55:19]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yes, so I took a food sensitivity analysis test, which I had never heard of. And I've never had food allergies. I'm not allergic to any foods. But on this food sensitivity test, what it does is it can tell if your body has somehow developed some sort of sensitivity to it. So nothing makes sense. But over time, I guess if you eat too much of the same things, your body doesn't really like that. That's why we have the old adage about variety.

[00:09:56:19 - 00:09:59:06]
Jennifer Lewis
 Eating variety is important. Absolutely, yeah.

[00:09:59:06 - 00:10:15:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 And luckily we can if we choose, right? Right. So that's fascinating. Okay, okay, do you mind diving into some of your personal things? I think most people could probably relate to like, oh yeah, you know what, I don't feel so good after I do X, Y, and Z. So can you tell me some of those things you found out?

[00:10:15:22 - 00:10:31:17]
Jennifer Lewis
 Sure, so one of the things on the list that I have developed a sensitivity to is eggs. Now, I was probably eating eggs all the time because that's an easy source of protein. Yeah, like I literally was probably eating eggs. I was eating eggs every day. So yeah, that was a no-no.

[00:10:32:17 - 00:10:48:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 The other thing I was eating cashews. Like to me, that sounds like a healthy snack, cashews. Yeah, that was on my list. Yogurt was another thing, which I've learned also in this process, dairy in general is very inflammatory, but yogurt-

[00:10:48:11 - 00:10:51:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 I think about how much that's marketed to older women, right?

[00:10:51:22 - 00:10:52:11]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, exactly.

[00:10:53:13 - 00:10:54:09]
Daffney  Allwein
 You have to get your calcium.

[00:10:54:09 - 00:10:56:13]
Jennifer Lewis
 You have to get your calcium. Exactly. You have to get your calcium, right? I know.

[00:10:58:21 - 00:11:06:14]
Jennifer Lewis
 So I'm being extra good by eating yogurt, which honestly, I don't really like yogurt. I was being healthy.

[00:11:06:14 - 00:11:12:04]
Daffney  Allwein
 Yes, yeah. You're eating off script because that's what you're advertised here, right? Yeah.

[00:11:12:04 - 00:11:23:15]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yes, yes. Wow. So as soon as I started cutting out those foods and the first thing she had me do was start an anti-inflammatory diet that just,

[00:11:24:22 - 00:11:33:12]
Jennifer Lewis
 it took time, but I started noticing differences right away. And yes, it's been a huge improvement. And I've- You said 20 pounds.

[00:11:33:12 - 00:11:48:14]
Daffney  Allwein
 You said 20 pounds. That's a big, you and I both know that some people losing 20 pounds is a little bit simpler, a little bit easier, but that's a big ordeal. So when you say anti-inflammatory diet, what was the typical diet for you?

[00:11:48:14 - 00:11:52:16]
Jennifer Lewis
 So vegetables, fruits, meat.

[00:11:52:16 - 00:11:59:18]
Daffney  Allwein
 Nice. What I learned- Meat, right? The evil meat we keep hearing about, right? Right? Yes, okay.

[00:11:59:18 - 00:12:28:07]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, so what I learned was, you know, I need protein and I couldn't get the protein from eggs anymore. I couldn't get the protein from milk. I've now learned that that's inflammatory. So I actually have to eat meat more because meat and fish and yeah, I wasn't, honestly, I would maybe prior to this, eat meat maybe once a month. Wow. Now I'm eating meat or chicken or fish at least twice a day. Wow. Yeah.

[00:12:28:07 - 00:12:35:13]
Daffney  Allwein
 See, what a flip and- Otherwise, health wise, what have you noticed other than the weight loss? Is the pain gone?

[00:12:35:13 - 00:12:43:01]
Jennifer Lewis
 The pain is gone and you know- You're off the crutches. I'm off crutches, yeah.

[00:12:44:07 - 00:12:57:20]
Jennifer Lewis
 Can you imagine how my family- No. Tried me all of a sudden, I'm on crutches for six weeks. Yeah. You think about this, right? Yeah. So especially with the nine year old running around, crutches was not fun and that's why it's like, this doesn't make sense. So yeah,

[00:12:59:08 - 00:13:12:00]
Jennifer Lewis
 so I'm not on crutches. I can make it through Disneyland even. Costco and Disneyland will often be in pain. And without having to take ibuprofen at the end of the day or ice it up. And it's fascinating to me.

[00:13:13:06 - 00:13:21:21]
Jennifer Lewis
 If I eat something that's maybe not the right thing to do, if I splurge too much on something, I do notice it. So- Yeah.

[00:13:23:17 - 00:13:29:10]
Jennifer Lewis
 Like some, I splurged one day and I had a donut. Yes, I love bakery goods. That's been really hard to do.

[00:13:29:10 - 00:13:32:05]
Daffney  Allwein
 There's no shame here. We don't shame people for eating things they enjoy.

[00:13:33:12 - 00:13:53:23]
Jennifer Lewis
 But oh my goodness, not only did I have some hip pain, but I had this huge stomach ache. I'm like, oh my goodness, this is not good. But donut was the wrong idea. Or just having a bite is okay. I can eat a chocolate chip cookie every once in a while and that's not gonna send me over the edge.

[00:13:53:23 - 00:14:17:06]
Daffney  Allwein
 It's fine. I think that's what's hard for some people, right? And this is a bigger discussion. I'm sure we've had this at some point, but for some people, they're not even recognizing like the association of what they're eating without their feeling, right? They get really used to eating a certain way or socially they eat a certain way and we're coming into the holidays. Like I get to have this conversation with folks a lot.

[00:14:18:21 - 00:14:22:09]
Daffney  Allwein
 It doesn't feel good. Your body does not appreciate it, right?

[00:14:24:04 - 00:14:46:01]
Daffney  Allwein
 But also important to recognize that things that we assume are healthy or we're told was healthy may not be the right thing for our body, right? And it's just profound how that works. Now you're exercising, you're having a good time now, right? Like what's an exercise day for Jen now?

[00:14:46:01 - 00:14:58:01]
Jennifer Lewis
 So I have adopted yoga, because I've just creeped out my joints and as an older person now, I'm doing a funny little book.

[00:14:59:06 - 00:15:01:09]
Daffney  Allwein
 You take one test and you're geriatric. I know.

[00:15:01:09 - 00:15:10:06]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, I love going to this yoga class because I'm the youngest person in there, but it's awesome. But what I've learned is that,

[00:15:11:10 - 00:15:37:05]
Jennifer Lewis
 and turns out I do have a little bit of arthritis going on. So not only am I menopausal, but the little arthritis is setting in and what's most important is moving those joints. So I don't have to do the hardcore cardio to get the right exercise for my body. I can be doing, stretching is so key. Yes, right. And just movement. And so I've really adopted the yoga lifestyle.

[00:15:37:05 - 00:15:42:08]
Daffney  Allwein
 Yoga's awesome. Yoga's great. I'm sure I thrust that upon you a few years ago when we were working together.

[00:15:43:12 - 00:17:05:11]
Daffney  Allwein
 Yoga's just really important and I'm throwing a pitch here for it, even though. But it's so interesting how people just sort of deem it either ineffective, but I'm gonna tell you the yoga that's going on now, the strength yoga, I mean, every major athlete is doing yoga. I mean, I don't know an athlete here far, anywhere, whatever sport they're in, that's not doing yoga. It's such a beneficial thing, but it's like you said, it's also that synovial fluid. There's a million dollar word for you. Synovial fluid is that fluid in our joints, right? That keeps everything moving and lubricated. And it is that whole 40 year old virgin thing where it's like, if you don't use it, you lose it, right? Like if you're not using it, if you're not making it, if you're not producing it, you do notice. So yoga is such an incredible way to work that into your everyday, into your exercise. And it's exactly like you said with the prescriptive diet, prescriptive exercise is also important depending on where you are in life, what you want out of your activity level. So I don't know anybody over the age of 10, right? That shouldn't be doing yoga. It's one of those things where it should be standard. It should be just taught in school at this point.

[00:17:05:11 - 00:17:13:14]
Jennifer Lewis
 I love that idea. I love that idea. Not only for the exercise benefits, but just, it's relaxing. It gives you some time.

[00:17:13:14 - 00:18:35:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 Self-management, right? Yes, self-awareness. Sometimes we get so deep into high intensity training and like what I like to call performance exercise, right? And it's basically people doing exercises around other people to impress other people. It's very primitive. And you have to stop sometimes and say to yourself, what was the physical benefit of that exercise, right? And, you know, I mean, if you're, I don't know, shot putting cows during the day, like whatever activity, right? Maybe that makes sense. But if your exercise doesn't align with the lifestyle that you live or your goal, you're really breaking down those fibers, especially if you're doing it daily and not with that express purpose, right? So, all right, so we learned about your diet. Now Jen, you actually grew up in Nevada, right? I did. Las Vegas as well. I feel like there's so many great stories there and like showgirl stories, very tailorshipping right now. But what was diet like when you were a kid? I think that's really important because a lot of people just sort of go back to what they think is normal. We had a really great conversation with my husband's family about, they didn't know what a vegetable was. It just wasn't part of their regular. So what was growing up? What did dinner look like?

[00:18:35:22 - 00:18:54:07]
Jennifer Lewis
 It was always meat and vegetables growing up. Dinner, some sort of, yeah. And as some, yes, I guess I didn't carry that into my adulthood because I had always heard that meat is not healthy. So I really, and it's harder to cook meat. So I just didn't cook meat.

[00:18:55:15 - 00:19:03:20]
Jennifer Lewis
 When I was single, I just really didn't cook it at home. I would eat it if I went out. So now with the family and my husband--

[00:19:03:20 - 00:19:12:09]
Daffney  Allwein
 You made your own nine-year-old, right? So yeah, it was so cute, so fun. I was like, is she eating meat? Is that something you can get her to eat and part of her diet?

[00:19:12:09 - 00:19:33:00]
Jennifer Lewis
 She is not interested in meat. I try to get her to explore into different things. She is a very picky eater, but right now we are focused on expanding her menu options and making-- You got a big job. Getting the protein and the nutrients she needs. But that's hard. It's just hard when you have picky eaters for sure.

[00:19:33:00 - 00:19:49:10]
Daffney  Allwein
 It is, it is. But it's like we were saying, Lincoln, it starts at a very young age, and she's nine, you have plenty of time for this, right? But think about when we were kids, the things that they told us, like, we need to eat fat free. We can't have red meat. We can't have these things.

[00:19:50:10 - 00:20:26:17]
Daffney  Allwein
 Who was advertising this? Think about how much white flour was in our diet. Think about the bleach toilet paper we were using, but that's a whole other story. But do you know what I'm saying? I was like, these sort of echoes of what we perceive as healthy, one, needs to evolve throughout our life, but two, needs to start. We have this really big job as moms to start early and expose them in a way that does see the rainbow, does see the variety of things in their diet. So do you have a mom trick for getting her to eat these things?

[00:20:26:17 - 00:20:34:02]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, I used to use the sneaky chef trick of sneaking food,

[00:20:35:10 - 00:21:14:21]
Jennifer Lewis
 more nutrient food and stuff that I knew she would eat. So she likes quesadillas. So guess what? I would sneak in the blended squash to-- Nice. Vegetable. OK. Green color is the cheese, and it actually tastes pretty good. So I would do things like that where I would try to sneak in some vegetables or protein into whatever she was eating. And I still try to do that. She catches on more quickly now, so I can't quite get away with it now that she's nine. Yes. But I like the idea that the whole rainbow, make sure you're eating a variety of colors.

[00:21:14:21 - 00:21:16:11]
Daffney  Allwein
 You know, you don't-- Much, so much.

[00:21:16:11 - 00:21:22:13]
Jennifer Lewis
 She's a carb loader, so I'm trying to get her to recognize the colors on the plate and choose-- That's awesome.

[00:21:22:13 - 00:22:41:20]
Daffney  Allwein
 That's big work right there. And even in the sense that we're teaching them to eat in a way that's healthy, not about being skinny. And the things that-- the message is we got as kids, right, that skinny is healthy. And that's not the case. You and I have always been on the thinner side. That didn't mean we were healthy, right? You know, I myself had a food journey like you, and I had to recognize that dairy was not my friend. And sometimes I had to still convince Rich, my husband, that dairy is not his friend. But we'll get that later. But it's one of those things, once you recognize what's best for your health or that you feel at your best doing these things, it doesn't even phase you that those things need to be in your life. So do I eat a cookie? Absolutely. Cookies are delicious. I can skip on cake. But a cookie comes my way. I'm probably going to try it. But it's knowing what that balance is and really listening to my body. It's not about punishment. It's not I eat the cookie, now I need to go run three miles. That was an older version of Daphne that I probably am glad to have left behind. But it really is recognizing how I feel in that moment, how I feel with that what I eat, right?

[00:22:41:20 - 00:23:16:02]
Jennifer Lewis
 Yes, that's one thing I've really noticed is in making such a drastic change in my diet is you do start to notice. And food can be healing. And if you're eating the right foods, you feel so much better. You wake up in the morning and you're not tired, you're not sluggish. You are ready to start the day. You feel energized. And listening to your body is so important. Whereas before, I wasn't even-- that wasn't even registering. Like I just was going about my day and hadn't really recognized how much what I

[00:23:16:02 - 00:23:21:03]
Daffney  Allwein
 was eating was affecting me. We don't realize till we're in pain or we can't walk through the Costco. That's the concept.

[00:23:21:03 - 00:23:31:20]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, no, but I had never heard of this concept that food can cause inflammation in your body. And I understand now that that's a well-known concept. And that was just new to me

[00:23:31:20 - 00:23:51:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 as an experience. Highly processed foods, right? We don't even think about it because highly processed foods were so common to our parents, right? That was something that they did was they took really, really refined things because they were worried about feeding them masses. They weren't thinking about the nutrition and the effects on the body thereafter.

[00:23:53:13 - 00:24:04:10]
Daffney  Allwein
 So that's really interesting. Do you remember that moment that you were in the doctor's office though, when you just like the switch kind of flipped for you when you're like, f this, right?

[00:24:04:10 - 00:24:35:21]
Jennifer Lewis
 Do you remember this moment? Oh, yes. Yes. I do remember this moment. Yes. Well, with the first doctor, I just had it up to my eyeballs. I mean, he clearly was not-- he was avoiding me. And he was sending in his nurse practitioner, who also was a woman. And thinking back on it, I'm like, wow, there was a woman in this practice. And she didn't think to tell me that joint pain is a symptom of menopause. I had to do my own Google searches to figure this out.

[00:24:37:05 - 00:25:13:02]
Jennifer Lewis
 The time to Google work. She's never said that to me. I mean, I see doctors on a regular basis. And I had never heard about joint pain being a sign of menopause. And so that was revolutionary. I'm like, wow. So all my friends, I tell them, hair loss, joint pain, these are weight gain. Because we all hear, when you get in your 40s and 50s, I just thought it was motherhood, older age. I didn't realize that my body was packing on extra pounds because I wasn't eating the right food. That was just fascinating.

[00:25:13:02 - 00:26:01:17]
Daffney  Allwein
 And you don't have to-- the best part is, you are a classic, important story that Efrelin needs to hear because you don't have to accept that. You don't have to just start buying bigger sizes. And I never want to shame anybody who's going through a weight loss journey or anything like that, but you have to know that you have other options. And I think, one, thank you for telling your story because I think we all have bought into the narrative that gaining weight in menopause, pain in menopause, slowing down. I mean, there's tons of pills for men, but for women, we're just still like, just roll with it. This is the next chapter for us. And I appreciate that you're here telling the opposite narrative and encouraging other people. Do you have advice for anybody who's in that?

[00:26:02:23 - 00:26:33:20]
Jennifer Lewis
 Definitely. Well, just seek out an acturopathic physician who will spend the time with you and look at your unique lab results and figure out and tell you what you could be doing differently. And there's a lot of trial and error. You have to be willing to commit the time. I mentioned earlier, it's been almost two years that I've been on this journey with her. And I'm in love with my doctor. She's amazing. Yes, she's lovely. Excellent advice. And don't give up.

[00:26:35:10 - 00:26:50:16]
Jennifer Lewis
 The other thing, I know one of the things going through menopause people consider is taking estrogen. Think about whether that's OK for you. For me, I didn't want to be on medicine that I would have to take every day. I was trying to find pain solutions. Thank you for saying that. Yeah.

[00:26:52:06 - 00:26:53:07]
Jennifer Lewis
 I've been able to find one.

[00:26:54:13 - 00:27:18:10]
Jennifer Lewis
 Through eating the right foods, I'm not in pain anymore. And I learned that as you lose estrogen-- because that really is like the lubricant and the glue that helps your body move. It does so many things. Once you start losing it, you have to adjust your practices to help your body maintain a healthy lifestyle.

[00:27:19:17 - 00:27:24:13]
Daffney  Allwein
 Everybody else is taking their own zempic. They're taking their testosterone. They're taking all their--

[00:27:26:15 - 00:27:43:22]
Daffney  Allwein
 it is no different. It is no different than you doing the same type of blood work and diagnostics. And this is not something you have to settle. You don't have to settle and take it at face value. There are options out there. And I love that you share that with us. And you look amazing, as you always do.

[00:27:43:22 - 00:27:46:04]
Jennifer Lewis
 Thank you. You're so sweet.

[00:27:46:04 - 00:28:20:16]
Daffney  Allwein
 How great that we have this option. So I'm going to link Jen's information for everybody about the resources and the support and things she had. Jen also mentioned to me that there's an entire network through the country. So if you don't live in Las Vegas, if you don't live in Washington, DC, there are a network of doctors who do this type of work. And you deserve it. You deserve to be able to understand what's going on with your body and not accept the status quo. Exactly. Jen, have you always been a bull by the horns kind of girl?

[00:28:22:01 - 00:29:14:10]
Jennifer Lewis
 Well, I'm not sure I would say that. I mean, I like to stand up for myself. I don't know. People describe me as quiet. I'm certainly not a wallflower. Not that I've known. Yeah. In my professional life, I have to speak up when I think things aren't going the right way. I look at the facts and I evaluate the facts. That's what I have to do for a living. And so in this situation, when I'm looking at medical information about myself, I'm like, this just isn't adding up. I need to investigate this further and get some other help from some other experts who can advise me on how to get better, because I don't want to take medicine every day. I want to be able to exercise. I want to be able to go to Disneyland without being in pain and without having to take ibuprofen every day. What can I be doing differently to improve my situation?

[00:29:14:10 - 00:29:37:10]
Daffney  Allwein
 Thanks for giving us hope, Jen. I think this is what the story is. It's really about hope that this is not the end. This is not something you have to accept, though. But Jen, thank you for joining us. This is really important. It's a really important conversation for women, for men who love women and want to take care of their wives and their sisters and their mothers and their spouses.

[00:29:38:11 - 00:29:54:20]
Daffney  Allwein
 There are options out there, and there is support. We don't have to accept the status quo of what's in front of us or even traditional emergency medicine. There are other options out there. So again, check out the link in the show. And if there's something that speaks to you in the show,

[00:29:56:20 - 00:30:02:05]
Daffney  Allwein
 share it with somebody who needs to hear this today. Jen, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

[00:30:02:05 - 00:30:07:19]
Jennifer Lewis
 Thank you for the opportunity to share my story. This has been a lot of fun. Yeah, we'll talk to you soon.